NEARIS

Welcome to Northern Education and Resettlement Information Services

NEARIS exists to help provide a ‘fresh start’ to disadvantaged adults through learning and skills.

We offer flexible and innovative education from various venues in Greater Manchester. NEARIS has four main aims:

* we engage people who face the biggest barriers to employment or education,

* we help our learners achieve a positive future, providing a bridge towards employment, further education or other ways of achieving their potential

* we develop creative new approaches and spread the word about what works well

* we always work in partnership with other organisations and in collaboration with our users.

NEARIS was established 1992 to develop education provision for socially excluded adults across Manchester and the surrounding areas.

NEARIS took over the management of the Manchester Education Resettlement Centre (MERC), originally set up by NACRO in 1977.

MERC was originally an education project for offenders and ex-offenders.

Click here for more information about our history

NEARIS - has projects in NEARIS - manages/hosts

Manchester - MERC Rebuilding Lives Project - (Homeless in Manchester)

Manchester - NEARIS Outreach Manchester Service User Network for homeless people

Bolton - NEARIS in Bolton

NEARIS - is a Registered Charity, a Company Limited by Guarantee, and a not-for-profit organisation

Manchester Education Resettlement Centre is based at Swan Buildings in Manchester. MERC is the 'original' project around which the work of NEARIS has been developed.

MERC has a network of referring agencies which has been developed over the past 31 years. These agencies provide resettlement and rehabilitation services for adults experiencing problems with drugs, alcohol, mental ill-health, homelessness and / or offending behaviour.

MERC provides a range of courses including Basic Skills, Art and Pottery, Music & Drama and ICT at various levels. Over 100 learners each week attend courses at MERC. Training is provided for volunteer tutors and MERC hosts placements form other agencies and the universities and colleges in the region.

MERC currently provides learning opportunities for over 400 adults each year. It is estimated that over 12,500 learners have enrolled on MERC courses over the past 29 years.

The two main sources of funding for MERC are the LSC franchise partnership with the Manchester Adult Education Service (MAES) and the Service agreement with Manchester Social Services.

NEARIS Outreach is based at Swan Buildings in Manchester. NEARIS Outreach works in partnership with specialist caring agencies across Manchester, including hostels, day centres and detox units. The project provides courses for adults undergoing some form of rehabilitation or resettlement process. Courses are generally provided in hostels where the students actually live.

In the main, our learners are adults and young people who have no recent record of study and with poor educational experience, who face single or multiple barriers to learning or employment due to extreme disadvantage and deprivation.

To date most of the courses have been based around ICT, although from 2005 NEARIS Outreach has developed embedded basic skills courses as part of its work with the ESF-funded Elevate Project. The successful 'Gardening by Numbers' course has been developed as part of this project.

Originally funded in 2001 as a UK Online outreach provision, the project has received further capital resources from Wireless Outreach Network (WON) and revenue from what is now the Big Lottery Fund. In addition, during 2004/5, NLDC Manchester and UK Online provided further resources. NEARIS Outreach also receives LSC funding via the NEARIS franchise partnership with MAES. The project is currently funded by ESF, in partnership with MAES and the Manchester basic Skills Consortium.

NEARIS in Bolton is based at Bolton Socialist Halls in Wood Street in the centre of Bolton. Two main sources of funding: Bolton Community Homes provides resources for the work with refugees and asylum seekers, while Neighbourhood Learning in Deprived Communities (NLDC) funds courses for adults involved with caring agencies in the town. the Bolton project has also established successful Travellers and Family Learning projects. Learning takes place both in outreach centres - hostels, day centres, etc and at the Wood Street Centre.

Funded By